Criminal Justice

LehighValleyNews.com, lehighvalleylive.com and The Morning Call have filed a joint motion seeking the release of sealed court records connected to a grand jury drug case investigation. The documents have been sealed for two months even though an order sealing at least one of them expired more than a month ago.

An attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued that a motion to unseal court dockets tied to a drug bust should be allowed to continue in Lehigh County Court. LehighValleyNews.com, lehighvalleylive.com and the Morning Call have joined in the effort to make the records public.

Brenda Rodriguez, 52, of Palmerton, is the final of three defendants to be sentenced in the Dec. 7, 2024, shooting death of her husband, Hector Garcia Gomez, in the parking lot of Loco Hot Deals, 1155 MacArthur Road.

Eric Dowdle led Lehigh County’s prosecution against two former Allentown vice officers before state attorneys took over those cases.

More than three dozen law enforcement professionals from the Lehigh Valley and beyond took part in the first training at the newly opened Joni Berner Esq ‘75-Expert Witness Training Center & Crime Scene Laboratory.

Two men are in Northampton County Prison after a traffic stop and vehicle search yielded the seizure of about 20,000 fentanyl pills.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced Thursday that an Allentown man charged in a fatal shooting outside a child's birthday party last year has been sentenced. He will serve 11 ½ to 28 years in state prison in the death of an Alburtis man.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has filed an emergency motion in Lehigh County Court requesting that a judge unseal documents in at least 22 criminal cases tied to an interstate drug ring. Among the defendants is Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi.

After his ousting in August 2023, Nadeem Shahzad pledged to sue the city for terminating him without cause.

Alfeni Romero-Taveras, 22, of Allentown, was charged Friday in the June 1, 2024, death of Angel Martinez-Velez on a basketball court at Fountain Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Both DUI arrests and speeding citations were up over last year.

Law enforcement is Lehigh County's greatest expense.

Vandals struck on the ground and main floors, and cash from a donation box was stolen, officials said.

Bethlehem officials are still investigating.

The legislation cracks down on the illegal operation of dirt bikes and ATVs in the Lehigh Valley.

Charges were filed against Bethlehem's former Budget and Finance director on Thursday.

The more important topic was keeping people safe and getting rid of gun violence.

Staff and extra security will be looking for kids left alone.

There is no public space in the Lehigh Valley in which it is legal to ride an ATV.

The four will be listed alongside 98 others who have died in the line of duty since the state police agency’s founding in 1905.

Violators face fines up to $2,500 and two years' imprisonment, under Pa.'s election code.

Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro applauds the move and says he's prepared for pushback from gun rights groups.